Two weeks. He had known Jonghyun for two weeks. This realization dawned on Minho while he was eating dinner with Key and Taemin after they had finished their first day of classes. He knew he had a tendency to fall too hard too fast, but this was a new record for him. He had been planning to tell Jonghyun how he felt the day Key had woken him up in a panic, urging him to get out of bed, to come help Jonghyun. He was crying, and Key just didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to take care of Jonghyun, but Minho. Minho knew. So, the tallest boy out of their small group had gone down the hall and discovered the oldest boy, tucked under the Appa's arm, in tears. He knew Jonghyun got upset easily, but usually it was just as easy to calm him down. Some small part of him had really believed Key was exadgerating, as he was prone to doing, and all it would take to cheer Jjongie up would be a hug, or a smile. Maybe some kind words, but he knew that wouldn't be enough this time.

 

He crossed the room, still in his boxers and a plain t-shirt, and eased himself onto the bed. He gathered Jonghyun into his arms, and thanked the powers that be that he was able to be there for the boy. He wanted nothing more than to help him pick up his broken parts and glue it all back together, and it seemed he was being given an opportunity to at least try. He was still sure, at that point, that it was a small insecurity that had upset Jonghyun. For a boy with such a strong face, his lack of confidence was surprising. There was the belief in his mind, that if someone were to go through a hard time he would grow stronger from it, but Jonghyun just looked like he was a punching bag for the whole world. He would bruise, and he would never complain. He would take any beating, and just stay there, looking at you with those sad, sad eyes, just as long as you were happy. And somehow, heartbreaking as it was, that made him seem stronger.

 

The only thing that really seemed to bother him was the fear that he might be alone again, and so that was what Minho was prepared to face. He was already there, about to start with the gentle reassurances, when he realized he knew nothing of the situation that came before. He looked around the room once, and took in what he could. Jinki's cell phone lay open, the screen black, showing it hadn't been used in a while, but that he was planning on using it again soon. Jinki himself, who was always the picture of the perfect adult, always taking charge of the situation and making everything ok, dressed to his best, and never losing control, looked different than Minho had ever seen him. His hair was a mess, and he was in sweatpants and an old worn out t-shirt. His face, though, was what worried Minho. He looked frustrated and upset, and regretful. Minho had seen him stressed out before, but never had he seen this expression, and it scared him. His eyes traveled to Key, and saw the detatchment and pity in his eyes, and he knew that whatever was going on would directly impact them all. Key could handle any situation, as long as it wouldn't spell bad news for himself.

 

Minho's mind began to wander, and he tried to come up with different theory's that would explain the situation he had just been into. In the end, though, he really couldn't find an answer that didn't come back to Jonghyun. Had he done something wrong? Something bad enough that he would be sent back into the system, effectively ruining their chances at being homed with Jinki? Or was it something else? Had he gotten hurt again? Had he gotten in a fight with Key? Or..he had broken two very unusual bones. Was there going to be an investigation? Were they going to take Jonghyun away? It was so hard to to guess what might have happened, and he realized if he stayed quiet much longer he would probably begin to assume.

 

"What's the matter?" He asked. Jonghyun shook his head, and he tried a new approach. "Why are you crying?"

 

"I just don't like it there." Jonghyun murmured. Minho blinked a few times, confusion flooding his brain. He didn't like it there? Like it where? He looked to Jinki for an explaination.

 

"He has to go into the hospital. They want to put him on a diet to help him gain weight, and make sure he's gaining enough weight to be healthy." Jinki explained.

 

Realization, and no small amount of relief flooded Minho's system. That made sense. That made plenty of sense. The doctors wanted to monitor his recovery. It was probably the best thing for him, too, in the long run, and if he was worried about being lonely..well that was easily fixed, too.

 

"That's not so bad, you know." Minho told him, rubbing Jonghyun's arm in an attempt to comfort him. The smaller boy wiped viciously at his eyes, shrugging, and Minho tried a different approach. "Why don't you want to go?"

 

"People die in the hospital. All the time. They get sick, or they get hurt, and they go into the hospital, and they never leave." Jonghyun had told him. He sniffled miserably, his body trembling.

 

"You're not going to die." Minho had whispered to him. "You don't need to be afraid of that."

 

"I'm not." Jonghyun stated that so boldly it surprised everyone in the room, and left them all in confusion.

 

"But if all you could think about was that somewhere in the same building as you, maybe the wing, maybe on the same floor as you, someone was dying, would you want to stay there?" Jonghyun had turned his watery eyes on Minho at this point, and Minho felt his heart sinking as the boy continued. "Would you want to be getting better, while they're getting worse, and know that they know? That they know that, while someone else is getting better, and going home to their family, they're not? I don't like it there. I just don't."

 

There was silence in the room for a few minutes after that, except the ocasional sob or hiccup coming from Jonghyun. Then, Jinki got up. Minho's attention immedietly went to the only father he'd ever known, and he waited. Jinki would be able to find a solution. He always could, and that was a fact. But he looked just as lost and helpless as the children he was taking care of, and Minho felt fear for the first time. By no means did he believe Jinki was invincible, or think the man could spin miracles out of thin air, but he had never once considered the possibility that there was something Jinki couldn't do when it came to keeping kids safe and happy. Jonghyun seemed to be growing more and more tense under Minho's arm, but he didn't think anything of it. Instead, he was realizing that Jinki was just as human as he was, and he wondered if Key was making the same discovery, or if he had known all along.

 

"I don't feel so good." Jonghyun spoke suddenly.

 

It took a moment for Minho to refocus, and absorb what Jonghyun had said, but by the time it did Jinki had grabbed a trash bucket and held it in front of Jonghyun. Within moments Jonghyun was emptying his stomach of its contents, and his tears were renewed. Minho felt terror, then. Somehow, of all the thoughts swirling in his head, the only one he had managed to latch onto was the one that said if Jonghyun was this upset at the thought of going, actually being there would probably kill him. He needed to gain weight, but if he couldn't keep anything down, and he lost even just a little...it might be too much. He pushed his fears to the back of his mind, and focused on Jonghyun as best as he could. He couldn't worry about losing him right now. He just had to focus on making him better.

 

Later on, Taemin had woken up and made a small scene over being treated like a child. He mentioned the therapist that they had all been forced to see, and Jinki's face cleared up. Suddenly, he was the man with the answer, and Minho felt a wave of relief. Key relaxed, and Taemin fell silent. Jonghyun even stopped crying, and started to settle down enough that he wanted to go brush his teeth. Ten minutes later, they were all in the car, and on their way to the therapist's actual office, a place they had never been, for an emergency session. Jonghyun had gone in to talk to her, and they were all relaxing, watching Taemin dance his little heart out in the waiting room with his headphones in, when they heard something they'd never heard before. Jonghyun, yelling.

 

In the space of thirty seconds Jinki and Key were at the door to her office, and Jinki was knocking. Minho had sat back with Taemin, who had seen everyone react to something he wasn't aware of, and removed his headphones. The tallest boy had then gone down the hall after the two older males, and saw Key slip inside. He stood on the doorway, barely processing that Taemin had joined him, and watched the exchange between the Umma and the object of his affections. He would be lying if he said that he felt no jealousy when Jonghyun told Key his story, offering the thing that had broken him, and allowing Key to comfort him, but there was a much larger piece of him that was just happy he had let it out. He stepped into the room, Taemin close behind him, when Jonghyun began to crumble, begging to stop the discussion. He couldn't stay away anymore, he had to do something.

 

He almost blurted out his feelings, then and there, but he knew it wasn't the right time. Jonghyun was actively greiving his loss of his mother, possibly for the first time, and he knew he couldn't take away from that. But he tried, he tried so hard, to help Key calm him down. He was breaking before their eyes, or maybe he had been broken all along, but he wanted so badly to be the one who helped stop the hurt. To be the one to put him back together, and make those tears stop. Then Jinki had shooed them all away, and he had stepped back reluctantly, if only out of respect for his elder, and watched as Jonghyun clung to Jinki. He was surprised, though, just as much as anyone, when Jinki lifted Jonghyun out of his seat and held him for those brief moments. Minho saw something, then, that he had overlooked somehow. He saw that Jonghyun was still a child, as much as they were, and in some ways even more so. He saw a kid as desperate for affection and attention as he himself was, and suddenly, he was glad he'd never told Jonghyun his feelings.

 

Minho raised his eyes to Key, looking more miserable than Key had ever seen him, and finally, finally, after a day of silence and thought, he spoke.

 

"I think I'm in love with Jonghyun." He said. Taemin nearly choked on his banana milk, but Key simply raised a brow to him.

 

"And?" He said, seeming completely unsurprised. Minho was quiet for a long moment while the others studied him.

 

"I can never tell him." He finally said. "He needs a friend. A brother. Someone to be there for him. Not someone trying to be his boyfriend."

 

"Oh. My. God. I never realized you were that stupid." Key said. Taemin's eyes got huge after the Umma's statement, and he looked at the eldest in shock.

 

"You need to say sorry!" Taemin said. Key ignored him, something he never did, and Minho shrank back into his chair.

 

"You know, you always think about everyone else. And so does Jonghyun, and it drives me absolutely insane. You guys are always thinking of each other first, so much so that you don't even realize what's right in front of your faces!" Key said. "Did you ever stop to think about why we were awake before you and Taemin? Ever stop to think about how hard he would have had to have been trying to not wake you up on his way out of the bed?"

 

"Key, you're being mean." Taemin said, and Key held up his hand, effectively silencing the youngest. He knew Key was mad, but he couldn't figure out why.

 

"If you think for one second he doesn't love you back, you are dead wrong. He was afraid you didn't care about him the way he cares about you. He came to me, to ask me what he should do." Key said. "Sure, he's clingy, and he's needy, but so are you. If you hurt him that way, if you never even give him the chance, because you see too much of yourself in him, then, Choi Minho, I don't think I'll ever forgive you."

 

The diva promptly stood and marched away, leaving the younger two stunned. After a minute, Taemin got up and followed him, and Minho sat by himself. He had never considered that Jonghyun might feel the same. He had never considered how selfish he was being. He spent so much time, trying to be a good person, trying to do what was best for those around him, he never even considered that he was only doing what he thought was best. What he felt should happen. In his attempt to be selfless, he managed to nearly ruin his chance to do exactly what he wanted - be close with Jonghyun.

 

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I really have no explanation I can offer for this chapter. I was writing something completely different, and then...boom. This happened. Enjoy Minho's perspective.